This edition offers an expert introduction and notes by G. C. Macaulay, guiding readers through the development, structure, and moral aims of the Arthurian poems. It helps place the work in a nineteenth‑century context while clarifying how the verses speak to modern themes.

The introduction explains how the Idylls grew from separate portraits of female character into a cohesive epic, and how the author used a legendary framework to explore timeless questions of virtue, power, and fate. The notes illuminate the poems’ symbols, such as the Holy Grail and the Round Table, and clarify the shifts in tone across the sequence. Readers will gain insight into the poet’s technique, as well as how the work engages with both myth and modern consciousness.

Understand the structure and unity of the Idylls of the King as a single artistic project.
Learn how the poems present Arthur and his realm, including emerging moral and spiritual themes.
Navigate key symbols and scholarly interpretations with clear explanations.
See how Tennyson’s language and style connect medieval legends with nineteenth‑century sensibilities.

Ideal for readers of poetry, Arthurian legend, and literary history, especially students using Macaulay’s introduction and notes in this edition.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

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